What Are We Talking About?

Mobilegeddon, Mobilepocalypse, or whatever other names people have come up for it, I’m sure you have heard about it. If not, you should know what it is all about.

Basically, sometime at the beginning of 2015, Google announced that it was going to update its algorithm to favor mobile-friendly websites in its mobile search results over those sites that do not meet their standards of mobile friendliness (no matter how nice you think you are!). Just in March of 2016, they announced again that starting in May (now) they would be rolling out a new version of their algorithm that would favor mobile friendly websites even more than before.

Despite the initial hype created by fellow marketers and search engine optimization experts, it is real, it is here, and it is something that your business should take seriously. In the past year, we have noticed significant ranking changes favoring those sites who are mobile friendly according to Google’s standards.

Why should you care?

I know. I bet you are saying to yourself, well why the h-e-double-hockey-sticks should I care?! My website is already ranking on Google on desktop searches. Well that’s great and all BUT 2015 was the first year where mobile searches actually surpassed desktop searches. This is monumental! That means that in the years to come, there will be more and more users searching for your services on their mobile device than ever before. So, if your website is NOT mobile friendly, then your business will be losing a lot of potential traffic, which we all know is the lifeblood of any successful business.

If you don’t care yet, then maybe this will convince you. Mobile friendly websites are also a lot more user friendly and Google has said numerous times that it values user experience signals when deciding whether or not your website deserves to be on its coveted first page. Why is this? Well take a look at the comparison of this website, before and after it was made mobile friendly and tell me what you think.

As you can see, the desktop version of the site was out of line, the text was too small, the buttons were hardly clickable. Now the mobile version on the other hand, is clean, easy to read and clickable – with call to actions that are so easy to use. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the version of the site on the right is going to get more clicks, more time on page and ultimately more phone calls!

How to Check if Your Site is Mobile Friendly?

The easiest way is to use Google’s Mobile Friendly Test tool. Just plug in your website and let Google do its work. If it gives you the green light, then you’ve got nothing to worry about! But if you see the dreaded red “Not Mobile Friendly” then you really should be taking action to get that fixed if you indeed do want to continue having organic traffic to your website.

How to Fix it?

Not to fret. There are ways to fix it. If your website is on WordPress, then just search for mobile friendly plugins and you should find a few easy to use solutions like Jetpack. However, if you want your site to look like the one above, it is best to enlist the help of a professional so that your site not only looks mobile friendly, but also has its own unique mobile domain (another important factor).

Of course, since you are already here, we offer mobile website design services as well as SEO to ensure that your business is visible online and in front of as many potential customers as possible. If you would like us to fix your website, please feel free to get in touch.

Next post, I will cover site speed, and why it is important for your SEO.